Opinion
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HEROD: Sense of relief with sesquicentennial projects

St. Catharines’ efforts at celebrating Canada’s 150th anniversary are going down the toilet.

Literally.

And that’s a good thing.

As you know, celebrating these sort of milestones can be dangerous for taxpayers.

Politicians see the anniversary dates as an opportunity for legacy projects, which invariably cost more cash than anticipated to build and often result in expensive, ongoing operating expenses.

Fortunately, local politicos resisted the temptation to construct any sesquicentennial monuments, an abstention that may be due, in large part, to the lack of general patriotic fervour surrounding this anniversary.

An institutional 150th birthday doesn’t quite have the same cachet as a 100th or a 200th.

Perhaps I’m letting nostalgia get the better of me, but I recall a great swelling of national pride during Canada’s centennial year when I was a Grade 7 student.

This anniversary is primarily providing me with a reminder about how old I’ve become.

At any rate, St. Catharines established a 150th anniversary task force and you can check out the planned activities on the city’s website.

They’re mostly low-key, inexpensive arts and cultural events, which is probably fine and dandy for most people.

I’m not saying there’s a general lack of buzz about the sesquicentennial, but the most ink it received lately was when city council backed a motion by the Township of Adjala-Tosorontio that asks the feds and the province to waive the taxes on Canadian flag purchases for the year 2017.

Noble, but boring. St. Catharines should have upped the ante by insisting taxes be dropped this year for maple syrup, butter tarts, Nanaimo bars, Bloody Caesars, poutine and Gordon Lightfoot albums.

However, it did tap into the Canada 150 Infrastructure Program and came away with $700,000 for three community projects.

Of that total, $500,000 went to West Park to help pay for a splash pad, outdoor fitness equipment and a washroom.

A grant of $150,000 will help pay for Lakeside Park enhancements, including pavilion improvements, playground replacements and washroom renovations.

Last but not least, $50,000 will go towards Rotary Park upgrades, which involve a new picnic shelter and — you guessed it — washroom facilities.

Thus, it goes without saying that when St. Catharines residents look back at the country’s 150th anniversary, they will be flushed with pride. Or they’ll remember flushing with pride.

By the way, about those earlier centennial projects …

Canada’s 100th birthday was celebrated with the development of Centennial Gardens, a large piece of parkland behind Gale Crescent that was formerly scraggly old canal land.

The architect hired by the city to create the concept was a dreamer. For $250,000 he envisioned greenspace that would include a natural amphitheatre seating 1,200 people, a tea-house and lily pond, illuminated fountain, pedestrian bridges over the old canal, parking for 600 cars and a two-level flagstoned plaza facing Oakdale Avenue that featured plaques containing the coat of arms of all 10 provinces, a totem pole and an Inuit sculpture.

Long story short, bids for the project came in wildly over budget. So, it was essentially developed as a passive park, with most of the aforementioned doodads dropped.

Its isolation made it a dud for most of its existence, but recent civic and community efforts have brought life to the park, renewing hope for a positive centennial legacy.

To recognize St. Catharines’ 100th birthday in 1976, city council voted to build a new main library.

It’s a nice building on well-landscaped property in the heart of the downtown. But the city’s rare display of opulence exacted a heavy price. Operating costs skyrocketed when the new building opened. Council balked at covering the extra expenses and the library responded by closing its doors on Mondays.

If a similar fate is avoided for the sesquicentennial washrooms, St. Catharines residents will be relieved.